Gung-Ho Geeks have posted a lengthy, irreverent, frequently funny but also in-depth review of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 12, which is to be published at the start of May as a paperback and kindle eBook.
As a side note, Gundrol Ghonardial, the main character in my story in Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 12, "Vampires in Moratt", appears in just one other story: "Mask of a Mad God" in my collection from Tule Fog Press Welgar the Cursed.
Here's a small taster of the irreverent review by Gung-Ho Geeks of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 12, (due to be published at the start of May). I'll post more as soon as the rest is online.
BATTLEBORN # 1
Edited by Sean C. W. Korsgaard
Published by Iron Age Media
From the very first page there is an atmosphere of blatant enthusiasm about Battleborn magazine, and you can tell straight away those involved in it have a love for the genre which is infectious.
The fiction opens with a Hanuvar story by Howard Andrew Jones, perhaps the greatest sword and sorcery writer of recent years, who died at far too young an age in January last year. Though part of Hanuvar’s ongoing saga (see the volumes from Baen Books: Lord of a Shattered Land, The City of Marble and Blood, and Shadow of the Smoking Mountain) “A Stone’s Throw” is a standalone story about an assassination attempt, though the reason for it is far from what even Hanuvar himself at first assumes. A well-wrought tale, it exemplifies why Howard Andrew Jones is held in such high esteem.
In complete contrast the following a tale, “Blood of the Oni” by C. L. Werner, is set in medieval Japan during the time of the Shogun, involving a sorcerously empowered sword, unscrupulous treachery and a truly hellish monster. I loved the neatly placed historical details in this story, which is far more complex than I at first expected and features some of the most realistically detailed sword fights I have ever read. C. L. Werner obviously knows what he is writing about.
Gregory D. Mele, who authored the third tale here, “Jaguar’s Children”, is familiar to me as he had an extraordinary story in Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 10 (“The Salt of Tilantokka”) last year. This again has a South American setting, laced with ancient peoples and piracy and a strange, sacred, crimson bird. Memorably action-filled.
This is immediately followed by another action story, “Vengeance Vow” by T. J. Marquis, wherein a huge assassin ingeniously tricks his way into a highly-fortified king’s palace during a day of drunken, drug-filled debauchery in honour of the nation’s depraved gods. His mission is to kill the king in retribution for what was done to his people. But things become far more complex than he expects by the time the deed is about to be done.
One of Robert E. Howard’s heroic poems follows, “The Road of Kings”, to remind us of whom we owe the genre of sword and sorcery.
Erik Waag’s “To Boast of Victory” is an amusing tale with more than a few twists, not the least of which comes at the very end. Recommended.
“Temple of the River King” by Lee Patton is a much more sombre affair. Rightly compared to Clark Ashton Smith for his colourful imagery, this again is filled with ongoing action with a protagonist who is uniquely macabre, and would, I am sure, have appealed to Smith himself. I am pleased to see other tales of this ancient, undead warrior have already been written.
I was a trifle unsure about the next story, “The Fury’s Blade” by Robert Rhodes, with its two female Furies, armed emissaries of their church, charged with recovering a stolen relic, namely a sacred cloak. Female sword-fighting protagonists is becoming something of a cliché these days. But I was soon won over. Wonderfully well-written, with a storyline that never becomes predictable or boring, this is another outstanding tale.
It’s good to see that unlike too many periodicals Battleborn does not shy away from publishing reprints. Obviously, we have already had the Howard poem, but there is also a long out-of-print novelette from the pen of the late Michael Shea, “the last sword and sorcery writer to win a World Fantasy Award.” “Pearls of the Vampire Queen” is new to me – although I must admit I haven’t, so far as I am aware, previously read anything of Michael Shea, even though my friend, Jim Pitts, illustrated a deluxe copy of The A’rak (part of Shea’s Nifft the Lean series) for Centipede Press. “Pearls of the Vampire Queen” is another Nifft the Lean story – and a uniquely strange tale it is, highlighting Shea’s intricate writing style and deft use of grotesque imagery. It is set in a very dark world, one in which there is safety for no one, especially those who, if only for the merest moment, succumb to complacency and let down their guards. After reading this, I will certainly seek out other Nifft the Lean tales. And it is to Battleborn’s credit it has highlighted a writer who should not be forgotten.
Other than these novelettes and short stories there is also part one of a three-part serial: “The Last Spell” by Schuyler Hernstrom, which I deliberately left till last to read. And I can see what a cunning ploy it was to include this serial – as nothing could possibly create greater inducement to buy the next two issues than to read the rest of this novel! Extremely well written, wickedly amusing, and filled with inventiveness.
Other than stories, novelettes and a serial there are also a number of columns, which add to the broader interest of the magazine.
At over 200 pages, Battleborn is a substantial read, with ne’er a poor story anywhere in sight. Definitely an important addition to the growing number of sword and sorcery publications appearing today in what is truly an exciting period in our genre.
CONAN: SONGS OF THE SLAIN
By Tim Lebbon Illustrated by Juan Alberto Hernandez
Published by Titan Books, 2025, £19.99
I am not normally fond of pastiches and have only ever written one myself (on request) and found it a far from enjoyable experience. Therefore I readily admit to starting this book without the greatest of expectations. In fact, Conan pastiches have been a particular dislike of mine for many years. So I was surprised to find the more I got into this book the more I became engrossed in it, and I was actually sorry when I reached the end.
It's not the Conan of Robert E. Howard, of course, if for one major reason: it’s King Conan in his later years, when the rigours of all his past hardships and wounds and his advancing age have taken their toll. Not that any of these dissuade him from doing what he’s always done best, with a broadsword held firmly in his fist.
It’s a very dark book, with several brilliantly described and thoroughly grotesque over-the-top villains out to end the Cimmerian’s life for a variety of reasons, preferably in as terrible a way as possible.
Growing bored as king of Aquilonia it is almost a gift when an old friend from many decades before, who helped them both escape a slave quarry, manages to reach him all but dead from his injuries to ask for help to rescue his enslaved wife and daughter, held by a brutal warrior called Grake, a man even bigger than Conan himself and a formidable warrior in his own right, but one who is viciously cruel. Honouring the debt he owes this man, Conan sets out by himself to fulfil his request. And so begins Conan’s perilous journey through many of the lands of ancient Hyboria into untold horrors, most of them supernatural in one form or another, from liches to flesh-eating giant insects controlled by an insane sorcerer. On his way he meets up with a unique group of potential allies, a disparate band of ex-warriors now travelling as a troupe of musicians going by the name of the Last Song. Despite initial mistrust on both sides they go on to share many of Conan’s perils.
The climax sees Conan up against a trio of his most malign enemies and things have never looked worse for him. It’s masterfully described, and the excitement and dangers certainly pile on top of each other in a most satisfying if terrifying way.
Although I still prefer Robert E. Howard’s Conan tales the most, this comes a close second, and at nearly 300 pages is never boring. It is also, I must add, complemented with some really well executed full-page black and white illustrations by Juan Alberto Hernandez which vividly depict some of its key scenes.
All in all an enjoyable swords and sorcery novel. And I would certainly look forward to any further chapters in the twilight years of the Cimmerian king of Aquilonia.
There is also a detailed review of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 11 by Mike Chinn.
Plus a review of my own: Tim Lebbon's Conan: Songs of the Slain.
The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley
Coming shortly before Mr Riley's 75th birthday in May, Volume One includes all of his stories published between 1970 and 2010.
Measuring 9.5 inches x 6.3 inches (24 cm x 16 cm), this 500-page collection of over 200,000 words includes 32 stories. Published in hardcover for £25.00. A kindle ebook is also available for £5.00.
